British Home & Hospital for Incurables

The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulation in relation to person centred care. Improvements were not found at this assessment, and the provider remained in breach of this regulation.

During this assessment, we found not enough improvement had been made and the provider continued to be in breach of legal regulations in relation to, good governance and safe care and treatment, including managing risk, medicines management. We identified an additional breach of a legal regulation in relation to person centred care.

We found some improvements had been made which meant the service was no longer in breach of regulations relating to the safety of the premises and staffing

As a result of our assessment, we rated the service requires improvement.

The provider was responsive to our feedback and took appropriate action to initiate immediate improvements. We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.

At the time of the assessment there was no registered manager in post. A new manager had been recruited and was in the process of applying to be registered with CQC.

People were not always provided with safe care and treatment. Risks to people were not consistently identified and monitored. People’s care records did not always contain accurate and consistent information. Medicines were not always managed safely. For people who were prescribed medicines to be taken ‘as required’, protocols to manage these medicines were insufficient.

Audits and management checks were in place but were not consistently used to monitor outcomes or confirm completion of required actions. Care plans and risk assessments lacked detailed guidance and were not always updated when people’s needs changed.

The provider’s governance systems and processes did not always operate effectively. Whilst audits were taking place, these were not sufficiently effective to ensure improvements were made and embedded.

There were a range of meaningful activities for people which had a positive impact on their well-being. People’s relatives were able to visit without restriction. The British Home had a warm and homely atmosphere and people appeared at ease in their surroundings.

The management team were receptive to our feedback, and they demonstrated a clear commitment to improvement.

Staff had access to regular training, but records demonstrated their supervision meetings were not always consistent.